RV Exchange Travel Destination - New Zealand - Nurturing The Nature Coast
The Kapiti and Horowhenua districts have been dubbed the Nature Coast for their wild shorelines and hinterland, and for the exceptional flora and fauna that flourish in their reserves and sanctuaries.The area also includes the mysterious, often mist-shrouded hump of the Kapiti Island bird sanctuary just a few kilometres off-shore.
Loosely, the area stretches from Paekakariki in the south to Shannon in the north and incorporates many beachside and plains settlements along the way. Strung together their names sound like a song – Paekakariki, Paraparaumu, Waikanae, Te Horo, Otaki, Manakau, Ohau, Waikawa, Hokio, Waitarere…
In the past, the Nature Coast has been a place that people have driven through on the way to or from Wellington without pausing to examine it more closely. Now more and more Wellingtonians and visitors are stopping off to eat lunch at the restaurants and cafes that have sprung up to cater for them or to walk the long stretches of grey sand that fringe this entire coastline, where a mass of trunks and branches of dead trees have found their way ashore. In a misty light its bleached shapes stick up from the sand like gatherings of ghosts.
Other aspects that draw people to the coast are its dramatic land forms – the steep forest-covered ranges swooping down almost to the water’s edge. The grey, capricious waters of the sea itself and the looming ragged peaks of the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges behind.
Further north towards Foxton and Levin, the land flattens into farmland divided by fences, streams, rivers and drainage channels. And although it is not as alluring as the landscapes further south it has its own charms.
But it’s not just the area’s good looks that make it seductive. The climate is often finer and warmer than it is in Wellington (although it can be just as wild when it comes to wind). Around Te Horo for instance, surprisingly frequent pockets of sunshine ripen fruit in the orchards that spread across the valley.
But the most obvious reason the Kapiti/Horowhenua region is called the Nature Coast is for the flora and fauna that take sanctuary in it its reserves, and for the passionate and often voluntary efforts that the local people go to in order to protect them.
I discovered, everywhere I drove, delightful walking tracks, forest reserves, cafes and museums. The people are friendly to visitors and convinced that they live among one of New Zealand’s best kept secrets.
There are camping sites and holiday parks of all shapes, sizes and standards along the coast and to stay and explore by caravan or motorhome is an enlightening, absorbing and very pleasant experience.
From Motorhomes, Caravans and Destinations (www.motorhomesandcaravans.co.nz)
Author: Jill Malcolm
New Zealand - RV / Motorhome Exchange International Travel Destination.
Monday, 6 September 2010
